Grassroots Coalition Rallied to Keep California a Pro-Solar State
Hallelujah. A day for celebration! I have a great story to share about how “all of us” won yesterday and killed the bill AB 1139 that wanted to kill rooftop Solar in California. This was not anything anyone expected. We were already preparing to win…
Freedom from Fossil Fuels and Respect for the Animals
Greg Stoner and Kathleen Gill live in the modest North Davis home they purchased over a decade ago. In recent years, they made a decision to create a more sustainable homestead for themselves and their community. While motivated to simply “do the right thing,” Greg…
Per Capita Davis: The year 2020 and 20-20 vision
It’s easier to accurately judge past actions and decisions looking back than when taking those actions or making those decisions. As they say, hindsight is always 20-20. We are on the cusp of a new year and a new decade. Looking backward, it’s clear that…
Updates on the Solar Energy Federal Tax Credit
The installation of a residential solar system certainly became easier on the wallet with the current 30 percent federal tax credit! Residents who purchase their solar system either with cash or a loan may be eligible for a 30 percent tax credit. Unfortunately, this percentage…
Solar panels at Davis Community, and other churches, providing lots of electricity
A recently installed array of solar panels on the roof at Davis Community Church is now providing about three-quarters of the electricity used by the congregation, which has a one-block campus across the street from Central Park in downtown Davis. Several other local congregations are…
Want to Add Solar Panels to Your New Home? Five Considerations
Editor’s Note: Solar tax credits begin to sunset at the end of 2019. To take advantage of the full 30% credit deducted from your tax owed, get your system by December 31, 2019. Before adding solar to your recently purchased home, here are five considerations:…
Solar “Power Pioneer” Proves Payback Period Has Decreased Dramatically
It’s not surprising that Sue Fields decided to put solar panels on her roof in 2010 — a relatively early time in the movement – she’s an environmental engineer after all. Sue freely admits she didn’t research all of the installers in the area or…
Partial Fixes for Partial Shade
Tis my delight, alone in summer shade / To pipe a simple song for thinking hearts. — William Wordsworth Wordsworth may have appreciated shade on a summer day, but solar panels do not. Most people know that solar panels produce little on a cloudy day….
Electric vehicles reach a tipping point
Auto writers and forecasters including mainstream business publications like The Economist and Business Insider believe we’re fast approaching a tipping point in the adoption of electric vehicles. Author Malcolm Gladwell popularized the term tipping point in his 2000 book by the same name. According to…
Driving on Sunshine EV/PV Home Tour
Sunday April 15 2018 1pm to 4pm
Federal solar tariffs not a disincentive for Davis
On Jan. 22, President Trump issued his long-awaited ruling on the penalties to be imposed on the world’s solar module manufacturers who sell their equipment into the U.S. market. Effective Feb. 7, there is a 30-percent solar import tariff for crystalline-silicon solar cells and modules….
Laundry Solutions for a Sustainable Lifestyle
Spending a little time thinking about how you wash and dry your clothes can have a big impact on your sustainable lifestyle. Combine your grandparents’ wisdom with some modern ingenuity and get some truly fantastic results.
What are you doing with your CA Climate Credit?
Twice a year, millions of California residents receive a credit on their utility bill identified as the “California Climate Credit.” The Climate Credit is one of many programs resulting from landmark legislation called the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. Taken together, these programs are cutting…
Davis Recognized as Solar Energy National Leader
Crossposted from the Davis Enterprise By Special to The Enterprise From page A7 | May 03, 2017 SolSmart, a program funded by he U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative, has recognized Davis with a Gold Award. Davis will be identified as a solar energy national leader…
Per Capita Davis: Good news for local solar power
April 19, 2017 By John Mott-Smith Crossposted the Davis Enterprise page A10 This column is primarily about rooftop solar in Yolo County, but before we get to that, there have been at least two interesting announcements from the tech world recently in terms of the future…
Greener Davis: Waste, Water, Wildthings, and CCE
April 22 this year marks the 47th anniversary of the first Earth Day! In celebration of this occasion, please join City of Davis staff for a series of environmental classes that promise to be nothing short of literary masterpieces (or at least educational and entertaining)….
Former Davis Mayor Living the PV/EV Dream
For more about electric vehicles and incentives, visit our Drive Electric webpage. Crossposted from the Davis Enterprise From page A9 | February 08, 2017 By Carla Arango When Joe and Janet Krovoza open their PG&E bill each month, they’re not surprised to see they owe less than…
Davis doubling up on clean solar energy
Crossposted from The Davis Enterprise From page A8 | February 01, 2017 By Mike Kluk and Leslie Crenna We did it, Davis! High-fives and a fist bump. In late May 2016, the city of Davis and Cool Davis — via City Council resolution — challenged…
Editorial Asks How We Will Fund Climate and Energy Research
The Sacramento Bee published an important special opinion article on Jan. 25, 2017, titled State must fund valuable research on climate and energy. To convert to renewable energy, the authors assert, we need more research in storage battery technology, breakthroughs in non-carbon transportation fuels, development…
Smile On, Keep Calm, and Give Cool!
On December 2nd the Davis Green Drinks chapter hosted Danny Kennedy, Managing Director of the California Clean Energy Fund, who spoke about the clean energy revolution taking place all over the planet. It was one of the most uplifting conversations we’ve had locally in this…
